John Heitinga was expected to get the Tottenham Hotspur job on an interim basis following the dismissal of Thomas Frank.
This is according to journalist Valentin Driessen, Via Football News. He explained that Igor Tudor's appointment took him by surprise.
Heitinga left his role as Tottenham assistant manager on 16 February.thJust 33 days after joining the club. Tottenham brought him in to support Thomas Frank as the pressure on him increased.
He previously worked as assistant manager at West Ham and Liverpool, the last season they won the title.
short tottenham spell
The hope was that he could help turn things around at Tottenham with his expertise. Instead, Spurs remained without a win in five Premier League games during his time on the touchline.
Despite this, according to Driessen, he was expected to take the job on an interim basis when Frank was eventually dismissed. Instead, he turned to Tudor and went to Dutchman.
He said, "If you read the statement: He could have stayed, and certainly he would have still been there."
"That manager had been fired last week, and John could have stayed, but he was expected to be interim manager for the rest of the season. Then he heard Igor Tudor was coming.
"Then they sat down together, and he thought: 'I don't see any future here, because next season there will be a completely new staff and a new manager. He will bring his own people with him.'
"And he probably didn't want to work under that Tudor, after which he said: 'I'm closing the door behind me.'"
What does tottenham follow?
The question now is what's next for Heitinga. A return to Liverpool could make sense, but with Arne Slott now in his place is Giovani Van Bronckhorst.
On the other side of Merseyside there's always David Moyes. He originally brought him to West Ham as his assistant and also worked with him as a player. However, his team in Hill Dickinson looks ready.
Or perhaps there is a bigger job somewhere to allow the 42-year-old to finally establish himself.
